U.S. Open Local Qualifying results

May 20, 2014 | by Benjamin Larsen of AmateurGolf.com

See the latest results as golfers across the country take aim at the 2014 U.S. Open at Pinehurst

The U.S. Open is typically the biggest event of the season for professional and amateur golfers (and fans) alike. With the 2014 U.S. Open heading to famed Pinehurst No. 2, there's even more buzz surrounding the major championship.

With a record number of entries, local qualifying is currently being conducted throughout the month at courses and locations across the nation.

Below is a look at the biggest stories, qualifiers and more as 2014 U.S. Open Local Qualifying takes center stage in the golfing world.

For a full look at U.S. Open Local Qualifying, please use the link at the bottom of the article.

MAY 19

The final day of local qualifying was a good one for amateurs.

At the Gibson Bay Golf Club (Richmond, KY) local qualifying, four amateurs punched their tickets to sectional play. Daniel McIntyre and Patric Sundlof shared medalist honors after shooting 68s.

Zach Morris was one shot back with a 69 while Nicholas Thompson snuck in as the last qualifier, shooting 70.

At the Old America Golf Club (The Colony, Tx.) qualifier, Kolton Crawford and Brandon Smith are moving on. Crawford shot 71 while Smith shot 72. Amateurs Nick Thornton and Jerry Ruiz will be the alternates.

MAY 15

Amateurs ruled the day at the Carter Plantation qualifier in Springfield, La.

Eric Ricard took medalist honors, shooting 71. He was a shot better than Stephen Wall and Jacob Bergeron -- also amateurs. Recent Coleman Invitational winner Patrick Christovich missed the mark by a shot and will serve as the first alternate heading into sectional play.

MAY 14

Longtime competitive mid-amateur Dan Sullivan shot 69 to share medalist honors with three others at the Newport Beach (Calif.) Country Club qualifier. Sullivan joins fellow amateur Gabriel Armendariz moving past the local qualifier and into sectional play.

At the Whippoorwill Club (Armonk, N.Y.), Max Buckley, a former Southern Methodist University star, shot 69 to share medalist honors. Five players in total, including amater Brian Williams, shot 69 in the highly- competitive local qualifier.

Former University of Iowa golfer Luke MIller shot 70 and takes one of four sectional berths from the Valley Brook Country Club (McMurray, Penn.) qualifier. Miller's 70 was good enough for second. Fellow amateur Mitch Mercer shot 72 and will be the second alternate.

MAY 13

Chinas's Zecheng Dou grabbed the final qualifying spot in the Ironwood Golf Club (Palm Desert, Calif.) qualifier. Dou, who took fourth place at last year's Asia-Pacific Amateur, shot 70 while Byron Meth of San Diego shot 68 to take one of the other four positions.

Cameron Brown and Parker Edens, both amateurs, shot 70 to share medalist honors at the Collindale Golf Club (Fort Collins, Colo.) qualifier. Edens is a Colorado State golfer. Brown and Edens were the only amateurs to move on to sectional play.

Armstrong's Gus Wagoner and Ben Wolcott of Ole Miss are moving on out of the local qualifier at The Legends of Chateau Elan (Braselton, Ga.). They both shot 71 and will be among seven moving to sectional qualifying. Fellow amateur Bryan Fox of Roswell, Ga. is one of the two alternates from the local qualifer.

At the Crofton (Md.) Country Club qualifier, talented Virginia mid-amateur Scott Shingler took the final qualifying position and will be the lone amateur moving on. He shot 71 and nipped fellow amateur Joe Rice and pro Marcus Manley for the final sectional berth.

University of Toledo's Otto Black shot a red- hot 68 to lead all scorers at the Radrick Farms (Ann Arbor, Mich.). The Pinckney, Mich. resident was three shots better than any other player, including Canadian amateur Nic Powell, who'll also be moving on with a 71.

Longtime St. Louis-area amateur Skip Berkmeyer took second place at the Missouri Bluffs Golf Club (St. Louis, Mo.) qualifier and will advance to the sectional. Berkmeyer was one shot back of Chad Saladin, who took medalist honors. Former UNLV golfer Blake Biddle shot 71 and will join Berkmeyer as the two amateurs advancing.

Missoula, Mont. and University of Michigan golfer Tom Swanson shot 68 to share medalist honors at the Missoula Country Club local qualifier. He tied pro Wes Heffernan for the top spot. Dylan Stensland, another amateur, shot 70 and will be the first alternate.

Bobby Leopold of Rhode Island shot 74 to take qualifying medalist honors at the Point Judith Country Club (Narragansett, R.I.). Leopold, who made a name for himself in the competitive amateur world with a run of victories over highly-ranked players at the 2011 U.S. Amateur, finished a shot above fellow amateurs Chris Houston and Greg Horvath, who'll also be moving on.

MAY 12

At Indian Ridge Country Club's Grove Course (Palm Desert, Calif.), David Gazzolo represented the amateur world well. He shot 68 to finish second and take one of five sectional qualifier berths. Gazzolo is a talented golfer on the UC Riverside team.

Cody Blick and Matt Hansen took two of the five sectional positions at the Ruby Hill Golf Club (Pleasanton, Calif.) qualifier. Blick, from San Jose State, shot 70 to share medalist honors with Eric Mina. Hansen, from UC Davis, shot 71. Kory Storer and recent Alameda Commuters winner Jonathan De Los Reyes will be the alternates.

At Pasatiempo Golf Club (Santa Cruz, Calif.), Cory McElyea led all scorers. The University of San Francisco senior, of course, reached last year's U.S. Open at Merion. Jobim Carlos of the Philippines took second with a 68.

Amateurs ruled the day at the Country Club of Farmington (Conn.) qualifier. Clark Robinson (66), Christopher Wiatr (69) and John Vanderlan (69) are all moving on after solid play. Robinson is a freshman at Marshall and Wiatr plays at UConn.

At Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club (Dade City, Fla.), Central Florida star Chase Koepka led all scorers. He shot 66 while Richard James shot 67 to take the top two positions in the local. Lakeland's Scott Smyers shot 70 to take the final qualifying position.

Northwestern's Jack Perry took co- medalist honors at the Knollwood Club (Lake Forest, Ill.), shooting 68. Just two shots back in the tightly-contested qualifier was top junior Doug Ghim, who'll be one of two alternates.

Talk about competition...At the Pinewild Country Club (Pinehurst, N.C.), qualifier, four amateurs found themselves in the mix and surprisingly, recent Concession Cup team member Scott Harvey found himself on the outside looking in. Just a few days after falling in a playoff at the Carolinas Open, Harvey shot 69 and will be alternate. Richard Fountain of Davidson shot 66 to take co-medalist honors while Carter Jenkins of UNC Greensboro shot 68 and will also move on.

Coastal Carolina golfer Andrew Dorn, who last year won the prestigous North and South Amateur, shot a red-hot 66 to take medalist honors at the Maketewah Country Club (Cincinnati) qualifier. He was four shots better than the runner-up. Will Grimmer, who made headlines with a 59 last year at the North & South Junior, shot 72 to take the final qualifying position.

Texas star Kramer Hickock's 68 took second place at the Falconhead Golf Club (Austin, Texas) qualifier. He was one shot back of Dustin Garza, the medalist. Fellow Texas Longhorn shot 70 and will be an alternate.

Texas A&M's Andrew Lister shot a scorching 64 to lead all players at the Shadow Hawk Golf Club (Richmond, Texas) local qualifier.

MAY 9

Wake Forest senior Thomas Birdsey shot a 66 to take co-medalist honors at the River Landing (Wallace, N.C.) qualifier. Birdsey, recently named to the All-ACC 1st Team, was the only amateur moving on to sectional qualifying.

MAY 8

Perhaps hoping to add to his impressive resume, veteran Northern California amateur Casey Boyns shot 69 at The Preserve (Carmel, Calif.) qualifier to sneak into sectional play. Amateur Maverick McNealy shot 68 to move on, too, while Nick Moore (70) will be the alternate.

Former Massachusetts Amateur champion Brian Higgins shot 69 to become the lone amateur moving forward past the Pinehills Golf Club (Plymouth, Mass.) qualifier. He tied four other players and survived a playoff to sneak into the sectional round.

LSU's Smylie Kaufman shot 69 to move past the Omaha (Neb.) Country Club qualifier. He's joined by Rory Doll and Carson Schaake, who'll also be advancing to the sectional qualifier.

MAY 7

It was another big day on the qualifying trail.

Former U.S. Walker Cup team member Blayne Barber led all scorers at the Timacuan Golf & Country Club (Lake Mary, Fla.) qualifier. Taylor Funk and Hans Reimers were the two amateurs to sneak into sectional play.

At Fox Hollow Golf Club (Trinity, Fla.), Virginia star Jimmy Stanger shot 68 to join Dustin Dingus moving on.

Adam Schenk and Keegan Vea shot 68 to share medalist honors with Andy Winings at the Hawthorne Golf & Country Club (Fishers, Ind.) qualifier while Talor Gooch, Doug Albers and Kevin Dougherty advanced past the Sycamore Ridge Golf Club (Spring Hill, Kan.) qualifier.

Hunter Stewart of Lexington, Ky. out- classed the field at the Colonial Country Club (Memphis, Tenn.) qualifier. Austin Rose was a close second and Brandon Caballero will also be advancing.

Former World No. 1 amateur Brady Watt of Australia (now professional) shot 68 and tied amateur Andrew Wyatt at the Odessa (TX) Country Club local qualifier.

MAY 6

Reigning New England Amateur Evan Russell, who plays at the University of Hartford, shot 70 to join three professionals moving on at the Twin Hills Country Club (Longmeadow, Mass.) qualifier.

At the Industry Hills Golf Club (City of Industry, Calif.) qualifier, two amateurs moved on. Mark Anguiano shot 70 while Joshua Shou shot 71.

Aaron Wise was the lone amateur advancing past the Andalusia Country Club (La Quinta, Calif.) qualifier. Wise, from Lake Elsinore, Calif. shot 70.

Amateurs ruled the day at the Blue Top Ridge at Riverside (Iowa) qualifier. Steve Koepke took medalist honors and will move on with Spain's Scott Fernandez and Tyler Smith of Iowa. Amateurs Alex Moorman and Raymond Knoll, also amateurs, will serve as the alternates.

MAY 5

Gavin Hall, who participated in last year's U.S. Open at Merion, shot 71 to finish second at the Oak Hill Country Club (Rochester, NY) local qualifier. Hall, a freshman at the University of Texas, joined Canada's Chris Hemmerich as the two amateurs advancing past the local qualifier.

Alabama star Trey Mullinax and Sam Love of Alabama- Birmingham took the top two spots at the Timberline Country Club (Calera, Ala.) local qualifier. The duo shared medalist honors after shooting identical 66s.

AmateurGolf.com members and past Tour players Andrew Morgan and Eric Sugimoto were among those moving past the Bermuda Dunes (Calif.) Country Club local. Morgan and Sugimoto shot 72 while Derek Castillo and recent Palmer Cup U.S. roster addition Rico Hoey of USC shot 73.

Junior Ben Doyle, currently the No. 2 player in the AmateurGolf.com California Rankings, shot 67 to medal at the Barona Creek Golf Club (Lakeside, Calif.) qualifier.

University of North Florida star M.J. Maguire moved past the Golf Club of North Hampton (Fernandina Beach, Fla.) local. He shot 68 and finished four shots behind medalist Kelly Kraft, the former U.S. Amateur champion.

Florida State's Hank Lebioda led all scorers at the Orange Tree Golf Club (Orlando, Fla.). He shot 67 and was the only amateur moving on.

In Highland, Utah, Zac Blair shot 68 to share medalist honors at the Alpine Country Club. Blair, the former BYU star, has compiled a terrific regional record in recent years and could be a major factor in the Sectional qualifier.

MAY 2

Curtis Thompson is the first amateur golfer to move onto sectional qualifying. The LSU star and two-time Dixie Amateur champion shot a red-hot 66 at The Club at Admiral's Cove in Jupiter, Fla. on Friday.

Results: U.S. Open Local Qualifying

Place	Player	Location	Pts
Medalist	Paul Smith	Turlock, CA	125
Medalist	Ben Doyle	La Jolla, CA	125
Medalist	Jonathan Sanders	Chatsworth, CA	125
Qualifier	Eric Sugimoto	San Diego, CA	100
Qualifier	Derek Castillo	Yorba Linda, CA	100

View full results for U.S. Open Local Qualifying

About the U.S. Open Local Qualifying

18-hole stroke play qualifier open to male amateurs with a handicap of 0.4 and below. Players who advance will get to choose their top three sectional qualifying sites. The number of qualifying spots will depend on the size of the field.